Political Economy of Patriarchy: Origins
STUDY BLOCKS: POLITICAL ECONOMY, HISTORY
Image: “Across Brazil, hundreds of millions of women, militants, and social movements say #EleNão – #NotHim – to then-candidate of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro in the largest women’s march in the country’s history, 29 September 2018. Sâmia Bomfim / Wikimedia” Tricontinental.
STUDY MATERIALS
Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, by Friedrich Engels.
In this text, Engels gives a materialist analysis of the family as a social unit came to be what it is today. He looks at the rise of class society and the development of the family through changing modes of production. It is best to read the entire piece for the full context of the analysis and the argument proposed, however, we will focus on Chapter II: The Family.
“The Accumulation of Labor and the Degradation of Women” from Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici
In Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Federici argues that the social position of women and control over their bodies changed drastically in the transition from feudalism to capitalism. For capitalism to exist the working class had to be created and this meant deep transformations in the lives and the society of those who would compose that emerging new social class. In this chapter, Federici discusses these transformations and the specific way in which they affected women.
DISCUSSION PROMPT
With these readings, we need to spend some time with definitions and speak about stages in human development. They help us to identify some of the factors that allowed for the development of capitalism, and that gave rise to the oppression of women.
Reflection questions:
*What do you (and/or your organization) think is the current state of capitalism?(i.e. economically, socially and politically) How does the current state of capitalism reflect on the reality of the working class, particularly, in the conditions of working class women?
*Provide examples of ruling class interests, and how they are upheld and promoted by different sectors of society.
*Identify ways in which the ruling class currently creates division amongst the working class in order to advance ruling class interests. How do these divisions impact working class women? (i.e. socially, economically, politically, ideologically)
*Thinking about, and naming some of the contradictions of capitalism in its current state, can you identify opportunities that these contradictions offer for advancing the struggles of working class women?